Springtime in Belgium

Springtime in Belgium:

One day about a week ago I was just riding along on one of my training rides, just an average training ride, nothing too special and it dawned on me that the farmers here in Belgium have come up with an amazing array of ways to spread manure on to the fields. I’ve done a decent amount of riding and training in rural Wisconsin and I have yet to see half of the elaborate machinery that they seem to have here. I must say there is no delicate way to explain this, but when you are riding down wind of a piece of machinery that is literally flinging the stuff in hay bail size chunks into the air, it just doesn’t make for a pleasant ride. Yet, it will definitely get you to speed up a bit, especially if your mind is wandering a little. Oh, and I forgot to mention that all of this dawned on me when I rolled up a little close behind one of these big ol’ pieces that liquefies the stuff and almost caught a splash…ummm yeah you’re all disgusted and grossed out now, but hey, I’m talking about reality here. You all eat food that grows in fields treated in a similar manner, so deal with it. Or send me an e-mail telling me how much you love this topic.

Equally numerous are the factories producing the manure. Every farm has at least a few cattle. Slightly different than what I am used to seeing back home. If a farm has cattle they usually have a good solid number of them, or none at all. Also, I feel the need to make note of the breed I believe is called the Belgian Blue. Man, these guys have been bred for sheer mass. I mean they look like one big muscle. They are either capable of kicking some serious a#@ or just tipping over on their stubby legs, not entirely sure which one.

All in all it has been pretty cool to see a country I have never seen before go from grey winter dull colors to springtime colors and smells…good or bad.